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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-13-WS lt --A DIDEEN HILLS Approved: February 25, 2013 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING JANUARY 22,2013 5:00 P.M. -ARDEN HILLS PUBLIC WORKS FACILITY CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the City Council work session meeting at 5:13 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung (arrived at 5:37 p.m.), and Ed Werner Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; Public Works Director Terry Maurer; Assistance City Engineer John Anderson; Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher; City Planner Meagan Beekman; Public Works Superintendent Joe Mooney; Public Works Maintenance Workers Dave Winkel, Max Arvidson, Jeff Frid, Tom Mikacevich, Tony Nowlan, Pete Saxe, Mike Schifsky, and Scott Freyberger; and Deputy Clerk Amy Died Councilmember Holden requested that Agenda Item B - Discussion on Multi-Family Design Standards be moved after the Triangle Parcel—MPCA Report. The Council accepted the agenda as amended. 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Public Works PowerPoint/Interactive Demo of New Technology Public Works Director Maurer introduced the Public Works staff present at the meeting. He stated that in total, the current staff has a combined 151 years of experience and service with the City. He explained that the public works staff has a lot of information and over the years, have been documenting policies and procedures so historical knowledge is not lost as staff leaves or retires. He noted that this will likely be the last meeting the City Council will see Public Works Maintenance Worker Pete Saxe at since he is retiring in March of 2013. Public Works Director Maurer stated that in terms of fleet in 2012, a Toro Workman was purchased to replace an older piece of equipment, and a new F350 4x4 pickup was also added to ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JANUARY 22, 2013 2 the fleet. He explained that approximately $11,000 was spent on converting the City Hall generator to have the ability to run lift stations if needed. Although the City had two lift station generators, the oldest had problems and it was determined that it was not worth fixing, and a new- used generator would cost approximately $35,000. Superintendent Joe Mooney came up with the idea of rewiring the City Hall generator allowing it to switch back and forth from lift station to City Hall. Public Works Director Maurer noted that the public works staff has attended a number of trainings. Over a dozen different classes were discussed. Public Works Director Maurer explained that a few of the bigger projects that took place this year include the rebuilding of lift stations 1, 12, and 13; the upgrading of control panels and pumps in lift stations 2, 5, 7, and 8; and installing the Omni System in all of the lift stations for monitoring purposes. Public Works Maintenance Worker Schifsky explained that old lift station monitoring technology included a pole with a light on it as means of communicating a problem. Then, the City upgraded to Electro Watchman, which would notify staff by phone of lift station alarms, which required staff to investigate the alarm in person. He stated that with the new Omni System, staff has the ability to look at any alarm at any of the lift stations using a computer. Councilmember Holden asked if the on-call public works person has a laptop that they use for this purpose. Public Works Maintenance Worker Schifsky explained that in the case of an alarm, an automated phone call is generated indicating which of the lift stations is experiencing the alarm. Staff can then view the data via a smart phone, laptop, or tablet. Assistant City Engineer Anderson discussed the street maintenance projects that were completed in 2012. He noted that the public works staff did a lot of the work patching streets that are going to be seal coated at a later time. Additional street improvement work was contracted out for crack filling and seal coating projects, and trail maintenance was also completed. Assistant City Engineer Anderson stated that a new product has been used for some of the improvement projects, and so far, it is performing well. He noted that the new product is being tested with some of the delamination on roads. Staff will track how it performs and determine if it is a viable option going forward. Assistant City Engineer Anderson discussed the 2012 roadway and pathway projects that were completed. Public Works Director Maurer stated that inspections were completed on the water towers. He explained that this entails draining down the water in the tower and riding around the inside of the water tower in a rubber raft to inspect the condition of the inside of the bowl. Assistant City Engineer Anderson discussed the fact that a sewer policy was adopted and that approximately 12.5 miles of sewer lines were cleaned in 2012. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JANUARY 22, 2013 3 Discussion continued regarding other special projects that took place in 2012, which included rebuilding hockey boards at Hazelnut Park, the irrigation system installed at Hazelnut Park, the upgraded fixtures inside the warming house at Perry Park, the play structure removal and rain garden planting at Valentine Park, the Old Highway 10 watermain replacement project, fixing the concrete hazard at Cummings Park, ball field grading, brush and root cutting on trails, and the steps at Floral Park and timber replacement at Perry Park. Superintendent Mooney stated that 2600 water meter readers were replaced, and that it took about three months for the new readers to be installed. He noted that all but eight readers have been replaced in the City. He explained that the new readers will provide more accurate readings and will also help determine if water leaks are present. Public Works Director Maurer discussed a list of special projects for 2013. The City Council briefly toured the public works facility and reconvened the work session at 6:30 p.m. C. Triangle Parcel—MPCA Report Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that in December 2010, the City entered into a Development Agreement with Presbyterian Homes for the redevelopment of the Johanna Shores senior housing facility. She explained that as part of the agreement, Presbyterian Homes agreed to convey to the City the parcel located at 3151 Lake Johanna Boulevard. This parcel, known as the triangle parcel, was once the site of a gas station; therefore, Presbyterian Homes agreed to bear the cost of remediating the parcel. Community Development Director Hutmacher noted that the four underground storage tanks have been removed from the triangle parcel and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency(MPCA) has provided its report stating that no additional remediation would be required at this time. Community Development Director Hutmacher questioned whether the Council was still interested in acquiring the site. The consensus among the Council is that they do want to acquire the triangle parcel and they agree to proceed with closing on the property. City Administrator Klaers noted that staff will check with the City Attorney regarding any outstanding issues, but that staff plans on bringing this item to the January 28, 2013, City Council meeting for approval. City Planner Beekman stated that a landscaping plan was drawn up by Councilmember Tamble at the end of 2012. She indicated that his landscaping plan had good scale based on the size of the Gateway sign. She explained that Presbyterian Homes offered to contribute money to pay for some trees on the parcel in addition to some additional landscaping. Community Development Director Hutmacher noted that at previous meetings, discussions regarding landscaping ideas on this parcel included ideas for structures or a gazebo. She stated ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JANUARY 22, 2013 4 that structures require frost footings and she questioned whether the Council would like to eliminate structures from the menu of landscaping options. Councilmember Holden stated that the parcel is not a large area, and she is not in favor of putting improvements there that will draw people to the property because of accessibility issues. She also noted that she does not want anything that requires footings to be constructed on the site because it increases potential liability. The consensus among the Council is that they do not want to consider site improvements on the triangle parcel that include structures. B. Discussion on Multi-Family Design Standards City Planner Beekman stated that the Council approved a City-wide moratorium on multi-family dwelling units at its June 25, 2012, regular meeting. She explained that the moratorium allowed time for the City to conduct a zoning study to review design standards. City Planner Beekman noted that the Planning Commission met in work session on July 11, 2012, and reviewed the scope of work for the zoning study. They provided direction to staff on items they considered to be high priority. She explained that recommendations from the League of Minnesota Cities were received by staff, and a review of other communities' codes was done in order for staff to prepare draft regulations of design standards for multi-family dwelling units. City Planner Beekman stated that the Planning Commission met again in work session on August 8, 2012, and they reviewed the draft regulations and provided comments to staff. City Planner Beekman indicated that the revised draft regulations were presented to the City Council at their August 20, 2012, work session. She noted that the Council provided additional input for revisions and directed staff to move forward with a Planning Commission review and public hearing at their September 5, 2012, meeting. City Planner Beekman stated that the City Council adopted regulations as presented by staff at their September 24, 2012, meeting. She noted that the regulations required new multi-family dwelling units to be approved through a conditional use permit (CUP) process, and certain design standards would be set up as criteria(such as requiring a minimum unit size of 600 square feet for efficiency units, with an additional 100 square feet for each bedroom included in the unit) for the CUP review. Mayor Grant noted that Councilmember Holden had a concern regarding design standards for new structures. Councilmember Holden expressed her concern of small living spaces. She explained that a one- person efficiency would be a minimum of 600 square feet, but as many as eight people could potentially live in a four-bedroom unit. At 1,000 square feet in size, that leaves 125 square feet per person. She noted that if the kitchen and bathroom were not factored into the total square footage of the apartment,the common space becomes even smaller. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JANUARY 22, 2013 5 Councilmember McClung stated that most suburban four-bedroom apartments are approximately 1,400 square feet, and two-bedroom units would be anywhere from 1,100 to 1,200 square feet. He pointed out that the minimum unit size of 600 square feet for efficiencies with an additional 100 square feet for each bedroom means that a four-bedroom apartment in Arden Hills would only have to be 1,000 square feet in size. He thinks the City should be looking at having slightly larger square footage apartments. He wants to be careful that the City does not agree to allow units that are too small. Councilmember Werner indicated that he is open to larger apartment sizes. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that staff could come back with more information regarding new multi-family construction in suburban communities. Councilmember Holmes inquired if Ramsey County did a market study. She stated that it seems like the City should also be looking at other things for TCAAP regarding design standards, such as brick, windows, and sidewalks. City Planner Beekman noted that those items will be addressed through the Master Planning process. D. Proposed Municipal Code Amendment to Section 330.02 Gambling Deputy Clerk Dietl stated that a gambling and premise permit received by the Spring Lake Park Lions was presented at the City Council meeting on November 26, 2012, for approval. She noted that the Council tabled the item for further discussion. Deputy Clerk Dietl explained that the Council discussed the gambling section of City Code at its work session on December 17, 2012. The Council provided direction to staff offering proposed amendments to the City Code language. Deputy Clerk Dietl presented a redlined version of Section 330.02 Gambling of the City Code containing the revisions suggested by the Council, as well as information on each organization licensed in the City of Arden Hills' list of expenditures. She explained that the fees to the City of Arden Hills sometimes appear to be less than fees paid to other cities; however, the fees are based on sales earnings where the organization's premise permits are held. If Arden Hills is being paid less than another city, it is because the gambling activities in the other city are earning more money. Councilmember Holden questioned why other cities are receiving a three percent local gambling tax and the City of Arden Hills is not. City Administrator Klaers explained that Subd. 9 of Section 330.02 states that the Council may impose a local gambling tax up to three percent on all organizations licensed to conduct lawful gambling within the City. He noted that although our Code states that we can, the Council at this point has not chosen to impose the fee when granting the license. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JANUARY 22, 2013 6 The consensus among the Council is to impose the three percent local gambling tax when it is time for organizations to renew their licenses. Additionally, the Council wants to ensure that Subd. 10 requiring organizations to provide financial reports is enforced. The Council offered additional input regarding language contained in Section 330.02 of City Code, including the removal of Subd. 2 (C) and (D) in the draft, and the amendments will come back to the January 28, 2013, regular Council meeting for approval. E. Meeting Protocol Discussion Mayor Grant stated that he does not want the Council to interrupt staff while they are presenting their staff presentations. He noted that if a Councilmember has a question, it should be written down and asked after the staff member has finished speaking. In sum, he stated that there will be a staff presentation, questions, discussion, and then the motion will be made. Councilmember Holden asked if the Mayor will lead the questions. Mayor Grant indicated that sometimes he may begin the questions, but he wants to be fair and would like to take turns allowing questions. He stated that he only wants one person speaking at a time. Mayor Grant noted that when a Councilmember asks a question, the staff member should begin their answer by addressing the Mayor in order to gain permission to answer and then they should address the Councilmember who asked the question. Mayor Grant requested that when referencing something in the packet or in a document, the page number or paragraph should be stated so the location is more easily identified so everyone is able to follow along. Further discussion continued regarding meeting protocol. The consensus among the Council is for work session agenda topic requests from staff to go through the City Administrator, and Council requests should go through the Mayor. F. Discussion Regarding Council Procedure for Responding to Citizen E-mails Mayor Grant stated that in cases of resident a-mails addressed to all Council, he does not "reply all"when he answers the e-mail to avoid violating open meeting laws. Councilmember Holden noted that many times when the Council receives a resident e-mail, no one on staff is copied. She questioned how a Councilmember knows if or when someone responds. Councilmember McClung stated that if he receives a question that he does not know the answer to, he would send the email to staff. Mayor Grant explained that he wants to avoid conflicting responses. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JANUARY 22, 2013 7 Councilmember Holden stated that there is no way to stop that because there will always be conflicting opinions. Council consensus was to allow individual responses to a resident e-mail, but Councilmembers should not respond to more than one Councilmember to avoid violating open meeting laws. If all of Council is copied on an e-mail, it should go to the City Administrator to respond. G. Discussion on Water Utility Complaints Mayor Grant stated that any Councilmember who receives a water utility complaint from a resident should send the complaint to staff. Councilmember Holden indicated that she has an issue with the way the new utility billing was rolled out. She stated that the billing changed quarters, it changed steps, the rates went up, and there just has not been much consistency. City Administrator Klaers noted that these were separate issues. First, the billing went quarterly so that everyone was on the same cycle. Then, an unrelated issue arose when meter reader equipment broke and estimations had to be used in order to generate bills. He stated that the last issue was when the Council approved the rate change. Councilmember Holden stated that she was unaware of the impact of these issues until she started receiving phone calls from residents. She would like more communication with residents from staff when changes are occurring. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session meeting at 8:33 p.m. WZ Patrick Klaers David Grant City Administrator Mayor